Yesterday, a story emerged which concerns the role of artificial food additives and hyperactivity in children. Researchers at Southampton University in the UK have, apparently, conducted a study which shows that certain food additives have adverse effects on mood and behaviour in children. I say apparently because the results of this study have not been […]
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‘Stealth vegetables’ and other tactics for getting healthy food into our kids
This week, I was interested to read about study which attempted to boost the nutritional content of children’s diets using ‘stealth vegetables’. American researchers fed children aged 3-5 a pasta-based meal which was accompanied by one or two sauces. One of these was a regular pasta sauce. The other had pureed broccoli and cauliflower added […]
Why letting children choose what they eat is a recipe for disaster
I’ve given up television viewing other than DVD’s and rugby, and my main way of keeping in touch of what’s going in the outside world is the radio. Yesterday, I was out taking a walk with the dog and, plugged into my radio, was listening to a news story about an eight-year-old boy here in […]
Getting the ‘balance’ of dietary fats right seems to be important whatever our age
In recent years, there has been increasing interest in the role that specific nutrients may play in helping ensure a healthy pregnancy. In addition to folic acid, another specific nutrient that has been the focus of attention are the so-called ‘omega-3’ fats found in oily fish such as salmon, mackerel and sardine. These fats appear […]
Why removing tonsils is not usually the answer for children who do not breathe easily
Enlarged tonsils and adenoids are quite common in children, and may make breathing difficult. One way that this may manifest is as snoring and something known as sleep apnoea ” basically where breathing is so obstructed that it can stop for short periods during sleep. Surgical removal of tonsils and adenoids is a common strategy […]
Study finds that overweight children eat the LEAST fat and most sugar
While it is widely held in the medical and dietetic communities that eating fat is one sure way to become fat, there are for why this just ain’t so. Some of the key explanations for why fat is not necessarily fattening were covered in a previous blog [1]. Despite the dearth of evidence against fat […]
Junk food ads aimed at children to be partially banned, and the practical steps that can counter the negative influence TV has on kids’ health
The end of last week saw some mixed news for those who believe that the television advertising of junk foods is a malign influence on our children’s lives. UK media regulator Ofcom has announced plans for a ban on such advertising during programming designed for children. This is clearly a step forward, though some had […]
Juicy details – why fruit juices pose a hazard to our health
Fruit juices generally have a healthy reputation, and a lot of people see them as a decent swap for whole fruit. However, for a variety of reasons, fruit juice actually bears only a passing relationship to the from whence it came. One reason for this relates to the fact that many nutritious elements in the […]
Should women eat oily fish in pregnancy – yes or no?!
The home page of drbriffa.com asks: Ever noticed how health advice, especially natural health advice, can seem to flick-flack from one extreme to another? Well, another example of the way health advice can seemingly blow in the wind came about this week when pregnant women were advised to be on ‘oily fish alert’. For some […]
Yet more evidence that calcium and dairy products do little or no good for our bones
Last week, one of my blogs focused on the association between cola consumption and weakened bones, and the fact that milk, contrary to popular perception, is actually not an ideal beverage for building bones click here. Further evidence for the uselessness of milk in this capacity has come from a study published in this week’s […]
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